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Showing content with the highest reputation on 12/30/21 in all areas

  1. I reclaimed old slate from my house and other free bay offerings and then inspected, graded and recut thousands of them to re roof one of my houses ! …….. never again!
    3 points
  2. My garden seat made from whiskey barrel staves A staircase I made in Australia with all wood from an old Sydney pier.
    3 points
  3. Another one from me. After the digger and dumper finished assaulting my concrete paving slabs I had to replace the path and patio entirely. This left me with a plentiful supply of hardcore plus nearly one hundred usable riven slabs to hide somewhere. The handiest option was to use them to back the stone retaining wall I was building:
    2 points
  4. ‘The finest form of defence is attack’ clauswitz A neighbour declared total war on me over an application I submitted. I did everything right, he repeatedly lied. Then he died of a heart attack. oh dear what a pity never mind. then our architect got everything we had taken out to placate him put back in and we built out and sold on. next………
    2 points
  5. I've been naively scrabbling around this topic for a while and already have the envelope of a building mostly built, but the other day came across a new source of info with some surprises in, which made me wonder a) what else I've missed, b) how much of what I think I know about the topic is either wrong, outdated, or at least not the full story. Clearly buildhub is useful, but what are additional sources of moderately detailed information, up to date with recent building science? E.g. Building science corp https://www.buildingscience.com/ great stuff Green building forum http://greenbuildingforum.co.uk/newforum/ GBA https://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/ Partly paywalled, but interesting insight into the US market - which is mainly timber frame and very experienced with it UK PH trust https://passivhaustrust.org.uk/guidance.php The technical guidance is especially useful, but doesn't cover everything. Passipedia & iPHA https://passipedia.org/start Limited info for non-members. Is anyone on the forum? Any good? ACEB knowledge base https://aecb.net/knowledgebase-archive/ (Membership required for most resources, never looked TBH) Country-specific passivhaus orgs: NZ https://passivehouse.nz/hpcd-handbook/ (This handbook is good) North US https://naphnetwork.org/ (never looked) Canada https://www.passivehousecanada.com/ (found a couple of things) Suppliers I'm wary of info from suppliers but a couple of recent US timber frame ones with seemingly good info: Hammer & hand https://hammerandhand.com/best-practices/manual/ 475 https://foursevenfive.com/
    1 point
  6. Decided I need a longer than average trash picker befitting someone of my stature. This after a spot of civic duty earlier. I took it upon myself to collect the recyclables along the 1/2 mile stretch outside my house. AONB my arse! ? There were plenty of cans just out of reach in the hedgerows. Found a business end, claw thing on Yeggi that uses a 10 or 15mm dia tube as the main shaft. Printed both options but it'll be based around 15mm copper pipe: There was no design for a handle though so I came up with this. Just a render here, being printed at the moment. My lad did the chequering on the model I did:
    1 point
  7. This only happened to me when a rat got in and drowned and got stuck in a pipe. Other than that no problems in two years of operation. Yes, I moved my pump into the ground with sound insulation and is barely audible now.
    1 point
  8. Your location might help. What is the local vernacular? What does the local planning policy say? Can you compromise on 1 1/2 storey room in roof design? That's what we have and very happy with it.
    1 point
  9. To create a 'warm roof' the aim is to put the insulation as near to the outside as possible. In your case you seem to have 100mm rafters supporting triangular battens above and plasterboard below - is that correct? The 100mm space thus created might seem like a natural place to put insulation but the rafters themselves act as cold bridges thermally connecting outside to inside in a direct path at each rafter. This would be called a 'cold roof' and cerates lots of challenges with trying to keep moisture from condensing. To make a warm roof you would put a continuous layer of rigid insulation on top of the rafters and then batten on top of that. Now the rafters, void and plasterboard are all at room temperature. Of course you need to support the insulation - so usually an OSB or plywood deck is put down on top of the rafters and to keep moisture from finding its way up to the cold side of the insulation and condensing, a vapour barrier is simply laid across the deck before laying the insulation. Construction is really, really simple. Your triangular battens might be OK screwed down on to the insulation. Otherwise another thin deck goes on first. Another assumption I am making is that structurally, your exposed beams support the 100mm rafters - else the weight of the tiles would be too great.
    1 point
  10. I repaired a large single garage roof built by a builder in 1919 on his own house, the roof has a nice fall, 1:40, on big joists nine by two and a half with inch x seven inch boards. what he next did was remarkable, a single layer of bitumen felt laid dry no tar, no clout nails with three inch overlaps turned down into a cast iron gutter clout nailed in the face. There was an ornate zinc trim nailed 3/4” back retaining a two inch thick layer of pea shingle over the whole roof, by then full of moss and sedum, the trim was designed to allow water to drain out into the gutter I replaced the roof in 1999, eighty years after it had been installed !
    1 point
  11. My CTA (chartered tax accountant) says you need everything going to the address including council tax and all mail for at least 6 months but best for a year if you want to avoid HMRC challenging it. Your warned. Best advice is to seek advice from a CTA covering all your circumstances! Good luck M
    1 point
  12. We had a house in Elgin, built in 1830, with dormers from day one. But the original ones had lead covers, and at some point two had been replaced with felt. So could they be original build, if they are lathe and plaster good chance they are original, if plasterboard they could have added after the original build.
    1 point
  13. You are right. Some of us on here have already done the easy savings. The general population is entirely different. As a slightly different example, because I am driving 600 extra miles every week, I have decided to put my 40 year old automotive engineering skills to some practical use. If I drive normally on the A30, M5, M4 and A34, then A40, I get about 45 MPG. If I potter along and add an extra hour and a half to the journey, I can get 70 MPG. Now I appreciate this is not a house, but expecting a little less can save a decent amount (about 40 quid a trip). My biggest energy saving device is the Poundland washing line.
    1 point
  14. I looked at both EPS and woodcrete based alternatives. I went for Nudura in the end. Here is a link to the story of my first floor build done back in November by SWMBO and I after one day's onsite help from the local Nudura distributors. Would definitely use it again. Try to design and build to the dimensions of the materials if you can (to avoid cutting and hence wastage)
    1 point
  15. It is actually very quick We normally screw a batten along the dpc and sit the tray on top Bedded on with a bit of backing Then simply sit a row of insulation in Drill five 9 mil holes Then tap the plastic knock-ins in Two men a couple of hours for an average gable
    1 point
  16. The house below is a 80s build with a 50 mil cavity with hardly any insulation in the top part of the building Extremely quick and easy to fit
    1 point
  17. On the bridges, If it's any consolation, even when employing a passive house certified designer as architect, I still had to employ a building physics expert to do thermal bridge modelling *and* an independent assessor to review the whole lot and find any missing gaps, so if you're employing a nonspecialist architect it's not surprising you need some extra eyes on this. Their lack of attention to the better than BR insulation request is disappointing though. RIBA have been sat on their hands for the last 2 decades, they really should have been pushing the agenda on upskilling architects - so at the very least they know what they don't know and have more ability to flag this to customers and advise them on having specialist input in these areas.
    1 point
  18. My only experience was selling our original residence (that we moved out of and into the wreck that we eventually demolished and rebuilt) after we rented it out for 36 months as sale market was flat. You get CGT relief on the % gain while it was your principal residence, I can't recall if we only paid CGT on the value between moving out and sale or if it was the whole gain from original purchase to sale. CGT does takes into account money you spend permanently improving the property (e.g. extensions but not maintenance) so your rebuild costs would be eligible. You also get to include costs of sale & purchase. There is a calculator here to do the sums. https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/calculate-your-capital-gains/resident/properties/ Strictly speaking, the 0% VAT self build scheme applies to a home you live in or holiday in but not sure how HMRC determine this for a single house. https://www.gov.uk/vat-building-new-home/eligibility
    1 point
  19. How true. They fill with stuff so quickly. Some of that is decent material that you have paid for, and some you will not recognise as it comes from another site. And then there is a LOT of air if they are filling it unsupervised. The waste centres that sort it make half of their money from collecting the disposal charge but not then sending so much out again. I was on a course some years ago, where we established that a skip costs you £1500 (prob £2000 now) because of the decent stuff that goes away in it. Another contractor on the course changed to hippo bags, sorted by material, and found that roofers who used to let the cut end fall to ground (thn to skip) suddenly preferred to keep and use the ends of battens rather than collect and cut them small enough to go in the small bag. One of site managers called me the 'skip inspector'.
    1 point
  20. I turned this fallen oak (that fell on my access road) into roof ties and and slabbed the rest for future projects…..
    1 point
  21. Gabion baskets made from old fencing wire and reclaimed stone salvaged from site.
    1 point
  22. Cables shouldn’t be run in the cavity, the only exception is tails passing from the meter box to the consumer unit.
    1 point
  23. Eps beads can and do deplasticise pvc cables but if this a problem we would be hearing about problems, the idea is that the cables become brittle and loose their insulating properties but you need more than long term exposure to a once touching pvc cable, not enough deplasticisation ever happens.
    1 point
  24. You are correct in advising that routing of services needs to be clarified upfront but a wayleave is not sufficient. Such rights need to be granted in property Deeds. One reason I suggested a deal that gives the other neighbour an ongoing interest in the build is to ensure cooperation as the build hits problems for example when space is tight for materials or a skip needs to be unloaded onto the neighbour's drive.
    1 point
  25. I also found a use for the roofing battens: So many nails! ?
    1 point
  26. This how your manifold works. Can only really be TRV issue. Gone wunda a call, may be covered by warranty.
    1 point
  27. I have also used Polarwall for a basement and found them very helpful. Construction is pretty simple.
    1 point
  28. I just looked at various ideas on YouTube and did my own take. Just old collected angle, channel, box and tube, a bit of conduit. The hinges turned from 8.8 bolts. I knew all this tat would come in handy one day! ?
    1 point
  29. I have built with Isotex and have found it very easy to work with, and found them very help full. But almost went for Jackon Thermomur as I cut the ICF firms down and ended with just two firms on a short list, but have been very happy with what I chose.
    1 point
  30. Hi Declan, Here is a look at the progress so far - apologies I am a bit slow on picking up replies.
    1 point
  31. Also look at Bluesound. Bit more expensive than Sonos, but audiophiles are impressed by Bluesound but critical of Sonos. We're using Bluesound Powernode in the kitchern and living room (larger spaces) and Loxone Audioserver for things like bedrooms which is cheaper. Speakers are a minefield. We're using DALI (https://www.dali-speakers.com/uk/) after a couple of companies locally both recommended them. They have a good range from fairly decently priced to high-end.
    1 point
  32. Slightly OT.. I recently built a small amp with my son using one of these boards... https://www.tinyosshop.com/tsa7800b At normal listening volumes the sound quality is pretty impressive. Well at least I was impressed. The specs suggest a lot of distortion exists at max power but that's way more than he will use it for. We went with that board so my son could play around with DSP. The board supports the SigmaStudio app for PC allowing him to experiment with digital filters. It's got Bluetooth and stereo phono input and 2+1 outputs. Currently connected to some old Creative speakers from a retired PC sound system and a bass speaker he designed himself on work experience last summer. We used a totally inappropriate switch mode power supply but seems to work fine. He's studying Acoustical Engineering and currently trying to find an industrial placement where he can do some design/DSP/Python/C++. Most of the companies offering places seem to specialise in Environmental monitoring.
    1 point
  33. This does depend on how much you are talking about overhang wise, and also roof pitch. With a steep roof 30degrees plus you find that the wider your soffit the further the roof line comes down the walls, sometimes coming down as far as the tops of the upstairs windows. Its really all down to your roof and house design. A bit too general to answer without a diagram. I have soffit depths that range from 450mm to 1800mm.
    1 point
  34. Glue has been used on chipboard flooring for decades. better glue is available than the basic PVA. If your surname is wimpey or persimmon fully understand otherwise get the glue and fixings out
    1 point
  35. Make sure the builder uses the correct screws and glue. I didn’t use enough glue to my cost so as soon as the builders are doing it make sure they are.
    1 point
  36. SBR in this case isn't a brand, it stands for "Small Batch Reactor".
    0 points
  37. Cheer up, your super insulated new build will turn you into a Thermal Aristocrat while the other 90% of Britons descend into thermal poverty. Next winter you will be able stand behind your triple glazed windows and shout at the thermal peasants "let them eat cake and wash once a week".
    0 points
  38. Clearly we are not "most people" then because I keep trying and failing to find anywhere we "waste" energy. The only savings I can see is cook less, wash us or our clothes less. watch less television, don't keep food in a fridge or freezer, sit in the dark at night or sit in a cold house.
    0 points
  39. The tank stat option will likely be too crude as a control, due no linear hysteresis, and result in under / over-shoot IMO.
    0 points
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